Details factors related to the selection of microcomputer systems for computer-based instruction, including cost-effectiveness, instruction improvement and enhancement, and projected use. Descriptions of Apple, Atari, PET, Sorcerer, Terak, Texas Instruments, and TRS-80 are included along with a glossary of microcomputer related terms. (LLS)

Basic assumptions about instruction must be established, and cooperation between a subject expert, instructional designer, evaluator, and computer applications person is needed to develop a computer managed instruction (CMI) system. Although development costs are high, educational improvement and the changing nature of instruction from lockstep to…

Presents several steps for developing computer based learning materials, and shows that they can be less expensive to design and implement than those that are developed using other media. (MER)

Claims that computers and other high technology can replace teachers and staff, thereby reducing educational costs, are unwarranted for several reasons. First, most cost analyses focus on hardware costs, which are not the major factor directing the cost of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Second, technology is more likely to change the skill…

This overview of the role and impact of computers on education and instruction examines: (1) computing applications for instruction, types of computer systems for instructional computing, and current instructional computing uses; (2) planning for future implementation of instructional computing, management concerns, and implementation issues; and…

The California Educational Technology Initiative (CETI) for California State Universities proposes a ten-year, four-billion-dollar revenue partnership with a private consortium to finance educational technology. Due to the great increase in college enrollment and decreased state funding for higher education, some believe that online courses would…